From: dg AT dcs DOT st-and DOT ac DOT uk
Message-Id: <30074.9702032027@dufftown.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk>
To: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net
Subject: Re: [opendos] OpenDOS + Win95 w/FAT32 
In-Reply-To: IVIE@cc.usu.edu's message of Mon, 03 Feb 97 09:14:17 -0600.
	     <01IEZ2O99DFM8ZMCGX AT cc DOT usu DOT edu> 
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Date: Mon, 03 Feb 97 20:27:54 +0000
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[...]
>Have you folks thought about giving the inode number to 8.3 filenames?
>An LFN app might see C:\Really.Long\Path.with.lots.of.dos\file23.tar.gz
>and an 8.3 app would see C:i32456.dat.

Okay, so you download some documentation and save it:

	introduction.txt
	tutorial1.txt
	tutorial2.txt
	command_reference.txt
	api_reference.txt

Now you want to browse it with your favourite file viewer. This isn't LFN 
aware. You see:

	i348562.dat
	i116733.dat
	i058322.dat
	i928726.dat
	i273628.dat

Now, which one was the tutorial? Ummmm...

A better solution is to use some sort of hashing. For example, the above under 
GEOS would appear as:

	introduc.000
	tutorial.000
	tutorial.001
	command_.000
	api_refe.000

...which is slightly more understandable. Of course, you lose the extension, 
but GEOS doesn't use them. I hate to say this, but the Win95 way:

	introd~1.txt
	tutori~1.txt
	tutori~2.txt
	comman~1.txt
	api_re~1.txt

...is probably the most intelligent way to go.


-- 
------------------- http://www-hons-cs.cs.st-and.ac.uk/~dg --------------------
   If you're up against someone more intelligent than you are, do something
    totally insane and let him think himself to death.  --- Pyanfar Chanur
---------------- Sun-Earther David Daton Given of Lochcarron ------------------